Surveillance and Privacy

Every moment is being recorded for posterity.

Millions of Americans have just been shocked to learn that there really is no such thing as privacy anymore.

The United States government admitted that it has been collecting information on our telephone conversations for the past seven years. They know who we called, how long we were on the phone with them - and we can only guess how much more they discovered about us from the records they requisitioned from the major telephone carriers.

Surveillance has become an undeniable part of our lives. With the help of modern technology there is almost nothing that can remain secret anymore. “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment,” George Orwell wrote in his classic prophetic work, 1984. What we say and what we do is all too often accessible to others, even when we don’t voluntarily post it on Facebook or tweet about it on Twitter.

I am not prepared to take a stand on governmental eavesdropping. I recognize how the threat of terrorism has forced us to make hard but oft-times necessary compromises with the ideal of personal freedoms and right to privacy. Yet, I also realize the danger inherent in democratically elected leaders having access to the kind of information they can readily misuse to gain illegitimate power.

But I am profoundly intrigued by one aspect of the furor now sweeping the country in the aftermath of the government’s admission that total privacy is no longer a fact of contemporary life. Countless people are not only appalled by the notion that others may know the secrets of their personal lives but afraid of what this knowledge may mean to the way in which they are perceived and how they will be forced to curtail their activities. And yet from a spiritual perspective the idea that everything we do is known by a higher power and recorded for posterity is a fundamental assumption that was supposed to guide us long before modern technology made its implementation possible.

When Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Nassi, author of the Mishnah, wanted to offer a succinct prescription for leading a good and honorable life, he wrote: “Contemplate three things, and you will not come to the hands of transgression: Know what is above from you: a seeing eye, a listening ear, and that all your deeds are always being inscribed in a book” (Ethics of the Fathers 2:1).

From a biblical perspective, the days of our lives are the pages of a book we write while we are here on earth. Its contents are completely known to the Creator and there will come a time when we will be held accountable for every one of its entries. It is far more than a diary; it is an unvarnished testament to our successes as well as our failures. It is the legacy we leave for the future that testifies to the worth-whileness of our existence. It includes everything in which we take pride but also all those things from which, in retrospect, we turn away with rueful embarrassment.

The Midrash offers a beautiful insight into the actions of prominent biblical heroes. It tells us that had Reuben, Jacob’s first born son, known that the Torah would record that he saved Joseph from the pit into which he was thrown by his brothers, he would’ve done far more than simply rescue him; he would have carried Joseph on his shoulders the entire great distance to his father. Had Aaron brother of Moses, known that his selfless acceptance of God’s appointment of his younger brother as leader of the Jewish people instead of himself would be acknowledged by a verse in the book of Exodus, he would have demonstrated his approval of the divine will by singing and dancing with timbrels. Had Boaz known that his kindness to Ruth by offering her six measures of grain would become part of a biblical text he would have feted her with stuffed calves and delicacies.

The point is profound. Even the good that we do would be enhanced multifold if we felt that it would not remain secret. And in the eyes of God there is no such thing as a private life, whether our actions make it into the book He authored or the one each one of us writes for eternity.

Our ancestors knew nothing of the technological threats to privacy. They could hardly imagine Internet hacking, cell phone data mining, spying cameras or any of the other myriad ways in which it is now possible to be privy to the most personal details of another person. Yet those guided by faith lived every moment with the certainty that nothing they did could avoid being seen by the One to whom they owed total allegiance. And this awareness, far from being viewed as an ever present and undesirable intrusion on their privacy, was considered a blessing that allowed them to constantly strive to give priority to their better selves.

To know that God is watching everything we do encourages us to lead ethical lives that won’t shame us in the eyes of our creator. God’s constant surveillance, unlike human spying, is meant as reminder of our mission to make our lives meaningful by His standards and to spur us to holiness even when He is the only one taking notice of what we’re doing.

“He’s Watching!”

One of the beautiful stories told about the famous Rabbi known as the Chafetz Chaim, Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan, tells of his being given a lift, as he wearily trudged from one town to another, by a carriage driver who had no idea of the identity of his passenger. Riding through a deserted area bounded by lush and unguarded fruit trees, the driver stopped to steal part of the crop and decided to enlist the aid of his fellow traveler. “I’m going to pick as much as I can and I ask you just to do me one small favor. If you see anyone looking, please call out to me immediately so we can flee and I won’t get caught.” No sooner did the carriage driver begin his illegal task than the rabbi began to shout, “He sees, he sees!”

Frightened, the carriage driver rushed back to his seat, hurried off and asked the rabbi, “By the way, where is the one who saw?”

The rabbi’s response was simply to point heavenward and, giving emphasis to his first word, he repeated, “He saw.”

Believers have always known the reality that nothing is ever totally private. There is a great deal of truth in the response of Google’s Eric Schmidt who years ago told an interviewer, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”

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About the Author

Rabbi Benjamin Blech, a frequent contributor to Aish, is a Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University and an internationally recognized educator, religious leader, and lecturer. Author of 14 highly acclaimed books with combined sales of over a half million copies, his newest, The World From A Spiritual Perspective, is a collection of over 100 of his best Aish articles. See his website at www.benjaminblech.com.

Visitor Comments: 41

(27)
John Smith,
June 14, 2013 11:29 AM

"There is a great deal of truth in the response of Google’s Eric Schmidt who years ago told an interviewer, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”"

Like Google's tax evasion?

(26)
Fred Neachey,
June 14, 2013 5:57 AM

Watch the parallels

Unfortunate analogy: Rabbi Blech doesn't defend government spying. But his homily on G-d's watching us is BASED ON the government spying. So numerous readers assume that R. Blech makes some equation of the two. Those readers are wrong...but R. Blech is careless.

Alan S.,
June 16, 2013 2:27 PM

Careless is as careless does...

Um, you've got it backwards. Rabbi Blech was not being careless. Rabbi Blech merely states what the Jewish people have long known, and that is, the good Lord is watching. If anything, in his homily, he notes that 'government spying' is a concept with its roots based on this Jewish principle.

(25)
Shoshana -Jerusalem,
June 13, 2013 8:37 AM

"musar haskeil" a lesson

It is wrong to invade someone else's privacy but what we learn from this is called a "musar haskeil".

It says that when a person is born two angels are appointed to be with him his whole life, one to write down every thing he does. one to write down every word he speaks. Today, we can understand this easier, because of videos (they are also a musar haskiel).

Every move we make, every word we speak, is being recorded Above. And after 120 years this video will be shown to us in front of all the souls of all our departed family, neighbors and friends, and everybody will see it and hear it.

So that is the lesson that we must learn from this incident of the U.S. government and not get sidetracked into discussions of should they, shouldn't they. Of course they shouldn't have. But since it happened we have to think about what Hshem is trying to tell us and what should we learn from this in connection with our relationship with H-shem. That He is watching us every minute and we should try real hard to do what's right.

And by the way, with Elul fast approaching, we should know that if there are scenes on our personal videos that we would prefer that they hadn't been recorded, we can erase them with tears.

Sarah Rivka :),
June 14, 2013 9:27 AM

Yes!

I agree- This article isn't about a position on the government surveillance, or about equating the two- It's just about a lesson that we could learn from the situation.

Rebeinu Gershon even held that it's forbidden to look at the return address on an envelope, even though it's right out there in the open. When I was in yeshiva, our rebbe told us to be very careful of this when we were distributing the mail and also not to read a postcard, even though it was not in an envelope. It took a lot of self control in guarding our eyes but we did it. After a while it was so natural that we didn't even want to invade another boy's privacy.

(23)
Lou Krieshes,
June 12, 2013 10:35 PM

We say it throughout yom tov

On Rosh Hashanah we say that G-d remembers all events. We say that we pass before G-d like sheep before the shepherd. Of course, G-d knows our inner secrets. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. This has nothing to do with Government spies. What about the Chinese spying on us? What about Nixon, who spied on himself?!

(22)
Sarah Vorchheimer,
June 12, 2013 5:28 PM

The Torah supports Privacy

בס"דIn Torah Law Privacy is protected. It is forbidden to read another's mail. It is forbidden to open another's mail. "Mah Tovu Ohalekha" - was declared because our tents were arranged in such a way that we did not face the entrances of one another, thus preserving the privacy of one another.I am writing from Australia and am a retired lawyer.I am horrified at the idea that "megadata" is being trawled willy-nilly - buy private companies, not necessarily our top security forces, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANT!

Yes, G-D is watching, but every human being on this earth is entitled to individual privacy. We have laws here, to protect privacy, but the US seems to have taken unto itself the role of the world's policeman, despite many features of what I see of US society which leave much to be desired, (e.g. racism, prejudice and a rush to premature judgement in many cases, plus a horrible "justice" system when compared to ours).

My late father, who was in the Australian 9th Divison AIF - a Rat of Tobruk - was a member of the RSL - the Returned Servicemen and Women's League, and a Branch President. Their motto is "The Price of Peace is Eternal Vigilance". I rather doubt that he would have seen the type of invasion of privacy that both the US and China (My computer lost stuff after I bought a Chinese printer) have been engaging in as included! He fought the Nazis. Look at how the Nazis and IBM colluded! Yes, we must fight terrorism - with warrants and proper means. We must not allow state terroriism. "Evil succeeds when good men do nothing."What is the world coming to!

(21)
Moshe,
June 12, 2013 3:47 PM

Reply/Additional

Thanks to those commenters on my original comment re: this article. Having read through it several more times, I stand by my original comments. The quote below is interesting:

"I recognize how the threat of terrorism has forced us to make hard but oft-times necessary compromises with the ideal of personal freedoms and right to privacy. Yet, I also realize the danger inherent in democratically elected leaders having access to the kind of information they can readily misuse to gain illegitimate power."

Since Shlomo HaMelech says "There is nothing new under the sun" - Our ancestors may not have had telephones or the internet, but they knew the inherent threat of governments throughout our history. Governments at one time peaceful & welcoming to Jews, the next century have our property confiscated & thrown out ( England, Lithuania/Poland, Germany, Arabia, etc etc) ... the "threat" of terrorism has *not* "forced" us to make compromises in our liberties. How can we not see our own history of the past hundred years? The "threat of terrorism" forced Hitler to get the Enabling Act 1933 passed. History *always* repeats itself.

Cincinnati,
June 13, 2013 11:53 AM

additional comment

This says it all. I have nothing more to add.

(20)
Morris (São Paulo/Brazil),
June 12, 2013 2:33 PM

It's our fault

When G-d is watching, listening and so on, He does not share the informations. Truly, with the spreading social networks, plus skype, facebook, instagram and so on, almost everybody is sharing private information. I have seen many problems happening between friends, among families, at work, because of information shared, commentaries, and so on. As far as one cannot resist publishing facts, other one does not resist commenting, and, worst of all, spreading. After all, if one publishes a fact, he cannot complain after "lack of privacy".Worst of all: someone may post a picture and lots of data on myself, without my knowledge or authorization.This will turn very bad.I1m wrong: it has already turned very bad.

(19)
Xanthe,
June 12, 2013 11:05 AM

Who is surveilling whom?

I can't buy this "Gd is watching" ideology. Ein Od Milvado - there is nothing else but Him. Gd is not a man peering down from the sky.As for our privacy having been eroded, there is nothing in the world that justifies that. Nothing!

(18)
jamie,
June 12, 2013 8:34 AM

Re-read the article!

Rabbi Blech of course understands the difference between God's knowledge and the government's snooping. He makes the distinction very clear in the article. He is using this awareness of surveillance to remind us of an important Jewish truth -- we are always being watched by God. No one can argue against that. He specifically said in the article that he is NOT going address the PRISM controversy

(17)
Michael,
June 12, 2013 1:31 AM

Agree with other commenters

With so many people working in intelligence organisations and contracting organisations to those intelligence organisations it only takes a few of those people with a disgruntled relationship, revenge or some other upset to use the data for their own means. And they can take personal data, take it out of context of what the persons intentions might have been and use it against them. As other commenters have said G-d's intentions are good and loving. Other humans can be misguided, not know the real context or worse have an evil intention. What if those with Nazi like or anti-Semitic like intentions had such a tool and such power? It would be horrendous.

(16)
Anonymous,
June 12, 2013 1:12 AM

Hashem watches

a wonderful and inspiring lesson rabbi. a very important lesson to us in a world so filled with ups and downs, more downs actually. thanks.

(15)
SusanE,
June 11, 2013 11:16 PM

I remember the FBI and Hoover

J Edgar Hoover was a horrible little man who used his position to snoop and spy on people, organization memberships and habits. And no doubt for his own perverted fufillment. That was allowed to happen. McCarthy was allowed to happen while the government and citizens watched on TV with rapt attention. The Patriot Act instituted under Bush's watch was allowed to happen. Our lying media is allowed to spew it's hate every day. The slogan Never Again, seems to have lost it's substance. It's already happening.

(14)
Anonymous,
June 11, 2013 11:14 PM

Only the CIA and NSA and the like have a right to pivacy!

We all know or feel that God is watching, but what really galls me and others, is these organizations of which we know next to nothing, are exempt from surveilance. what does the rabbi say about that?

(13)
Anonymous,
June 11, 2013 9:33 PM

R. Blech does not equate the government with Hashem.

I agree with both prior comments (Moshe and Cincinnati). However, I do not think that Rabbi Blech intended to equate the government with Hashem. In this very thought provoking article, he is telling us that it is not unprecedented for us to be watched and heard. It is not logical for our sensibilities to be shocked when we discover that our deeds, good and bad, are becoming known to an intelligence outside ourselves as if this is something new, because it has always been so. The issue is not that our actions are being seen and heard. It is that we are being denied a choice as to whom we invite in to the most private aspects of our lives. We choose to love Hashem and allow him to participate with us on profound levels. But no one has offered us a choice as to whether or not the government can watch and listen in on everything we do and say. Therefore, in the case of the government, we feel violated.

(12)
Ephraim Shalom,
June 11, 2013 8:15 PM

Moshe & Cincinnati might want to try reading it again.

Somehow, both respondents missed the entire point of Rabbi Blech's piece, which does nothing of the kind to "encourage passivity." Rabbi Blech specifically avoids taking a position on "government eavesdropping," instead focusing on Power and Judgment much stronger than that weilded by fallible politicians. Isn't it about each of us thinking critically first, and then following it up by doing the right thing?

(11)
yuripelham,
June 11, 2013 7:20 PM

G-d sets the standard. Government does not. Yoke of Torah take it on. In this way avoid yoke of government. This I gathered from Pirke Avot.

(10)
Laura Slitt,
June 11, 2013 6:19 PM

Giving Up Freedom For False Security

OMG, comparing Gd being all seeing to absolute power corrupting, to the point of multiplying Nazi Germany to the world with a few forcing the many under their control!!!!!What lazy thought process.

I hate to always compare what people eat to what happens in the world but when any culture, any religion, nurtures children to become predators, self serving and anthropocentric, which my Jewish friends are in telling me that Torah entitles us to do what we wish to earth, this IS the consequence. Human beings are behaving the polar opposite of what we should be to HEAL and REPAIR the damage only ONE species has wrought, humans! When we say, Oh! They acted like animals, as if there's something horrible about that, we delude ourselves that animals inflict horror, pain, rape, murder, havoc, destruction, on each other and earth! NO. They need NO schools or economy to do what is required for survival.Enter human, creating monstrous weapons of war, chemical agriculture, ( another weapon of war) and all life is threatened.

The age of big brother is NOT Gd, in fact, quite the contrary, it is the absence of holy and Gdly behavior.

Alan S.,
June 13, 2013 9:53 AM

You make several strong points, but three 'poor' ones, that should be challenged. First, this article did not compare HaShem with the absolute corrupting power of governments", as you say with your very first statement. Secondly, your "Jewish friends" are informing you incorrectly concerning what the Torah "entitles" us to "wish to" do to the earth. Speak to someone knowledgeable. Finally, while you are certainly entitled to your opinion, I hold the opposite opinion concerning what people eat. Assuming you are stating it as a metaphor, though you may not be, I say what people eat, or how they treat animals, has little to do with their unholy and unG-dly behavior. In fact, animals do inflict horror, etc on other animals. How many zoo keepers, while lovingly taking care of animals, are mauled to death when accidentally falling into an animal's cage? People can and do act like animals. It is up to the person to have G-d like behavior.

(9)
Talia Zentara,
June 11, 2013 5:10 PM

On-line Privacy

I understand that we are always watched by the Creator of the Universe. But the last line of the article is confusing in the face of the latest dragnet by an administration that is shamesless,If I express my views, the article seems to imply, I should not have done it in the first place! Ideas are not inherently evil, norneed to be hovered over by a government of vultures who willnot allow free speech and despises the Constitution as well asJudaic and Christian values.

(8)
ruth housman,
June 11, 2013 5:06 PM

the twofold nature of a word: Privacy

Long ago, I saw that the word privacy, if you listen to this word as spoken, has within, PRY, as in look into others' lives. Words have this totally bipolar quality, and how we use them, is very significant. For example, cruel and crewel. One is for awful not aweful, and the other for beautiful embroidery. I am writing all over the web about words, and what I am downloading, from the SOURCE, as we all do, is a profound story.

I don't want to believe that had Boaz known about the effect of his largesse in the fields, and his love for Ruth, that the future knowledge would have changed his former behaviors. I want to believe we do it, for LOVE, and not some future reward, as in punishment for misdeeds or transgressions and praise and rewards for our good acts. I think you do it for LOVE and that is sufficient and beautiful.

As to the government, people are objecting to secrecy in government and since all this furor the sales of Orwell's l984 have been massive. But maybe Kafka would be salient, also.

We know massive data is being collected and a lot of it, Who cares? But we don't like collection of data in secrecy, as if, Government knows better. It should be open disclosure subject to discussion and we do have a Bill of Rights.

As to G_D, what is overlooked and what is also overlooked, has double meaning, too. We have many conundrums in life, and one is surely being regarded by a Celestial, Invisible Force, but I am told, that force moved within, and that G_d is everywhere.

(7)
Holland,
June 11, 2013 5:03 PM

Who is watching?

I agree with Moshe and Cincinatti; the Founding Fathers of the USA warned against tyranny using terrorist threats as an excuse to spy on and suppress the people. As Benjamin Franklin once said: "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."

(6)
Irene,
June 11, 2013 4:31 PM

yes and no

I believe that the article was not meant to tell that government snooping was ok, but to open Our eyes to Our Creator who watches over us. And, I believe the Author is perfectly aware that there is a big difference between a loving and caring almighty who wants the very best for us, and a government for which the motives are unclear. I believe the lesson is to look up, say thank you, and then open Our eyes to the government and maybe say, this is not ok, you are not the almighty, therefore you cannot do this.

(5)
Gina,
June 11, 2013 4:15 PM

what I worry about

It is comparing apples to oranges to compare Hashem to NSA. What worries me is that the backbone of the whole thing is computers. I have had computers mistakenly put my name or phone number for collection agencies, who then proceed to not believe I am not Ms. Jones or I don't know Mr. smith, and proceed to hound me incessantly. I have also seen names of babies put in the no fly lists and parents have a heck of a time correcting the mistake, vacation ruined of course.. It also completely smacks of "presumed guilty" because the computer recognized the words : holy and terror" even though I was describing my grandchild in a moment of frustration. Plus all the hoops I will have to jump through proving what I meant, with one computer somewhere not erasing the bad info..like happens at the DMV, etc..

(4)
Dr. Harry,
June 11, 2013 4:12 PM

Mind Your Own Business

You my dear Rabbi should mind your own business, everyone should mind theirs, and Heaven will be concerned with Heavenly business. The government should stay out of ALL OF THIS! Anything else said about this is neither wanted nor appreciated.

Anonymous,
June 13, 2013 9:58 AM

Dr. Harry, don't you read Aish.com for their authors opinions? If you don't " appreciate or want" Rabbi Blech's articles, please stop reading them. He makes tens of thousands of Aish.com readers happy with his opinions. Not too make this personal like you did, but please read elsewhere.

(3)
rachel,
June 11, 2013 4:08 PM

hashem knows all, spies do not

I do not commit crimes. But those getting my private info might use that info to victimize me. And some things are very personal. I really do not want the gov collecting a record of calls made by women to a location they then visit for about an houur at night once a month, not becase we are engaged in illegal or immoral activities, but because my mikva use shold be known only to me, my husband,and the attendant,

(2)
Anonymous,
June 11, 2013 3:20 PM

TheNazi's and IBM

The Nazi's had rudimentary, yet effective technology at their disposal; the computer punch card. IBM developed the technology for aggregating census data and that is how the Nazi party knew exactly where to go when they began their round-up of the Jewish. Big Data today is no different in the ability to aggregate data in any number of ways to be manipulated by those who desire power and have the means to effect it. Never forget this.

(1)
Moshe,
June 10, 2013 4:09 PM

flawed article

Though Hashem is watching over us always, and knows all that we do, to equate that with the government snooping on us without warrants (as required under the fourth amendment) is comparing apples to oranges. "if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't object" is not valid - What if this technology were available to the Nazi's? If the Jews of Germany had nothing to hide, why should they be concerned? We've seen this administration go after its political enemies time & again. "first they came for the libertarians, but I wasn't a libertarian, so I said nothing. Then they came for the conservatieves, but I wasn't conservative, so I said nothing. History tends to repeat itself, what has happened in other countries in the past, certainly can happen here, if we allow it! Articles like this, which encourage passivity, is a problem.

Cincinnati,
June 11, 2013 12:12 PM

Agree

My sentiments exactly. G-d watches us with only good intensions. Governmental control, under the guise of protection, is easily used to promote its own agenda.

silver spring,
June 11, 2013 5:53 PM

You missed the point

I think you missed the point of the article. rabbi Blech is not encouraging passivity nor comparing the government oversight to G-D's. He is just the idea that one can draw from here, of our responsibility to live with the knowledge of oversight, and how it forces us to think twice before we do or say something.

Talia Zentara,
June 11, 2013 9:34 PM

Flawed Article

I posted a similar comment but yours was far more worthy to
be posted than mine. You gave concrete evidence that I
really appreciated. My bet is there are thousands who see the
glaring flaw you so aptly described! Thank you,, Moshe!
Talia~

ell,
June 11, 2013 9:55 PM

disagree

Government IS NOT snooping on you or me. It is doing its outmost to keep us safe street what George W.and Dick Chaney did by agreeing with their friends in the Mideast to allow hundreds of thousands of Muslim into this country without oversight. God only knows what this well mean for Israel's safety in the future.

Ephraim,
June 13, 2013 3:28 AM

eli? wake up

Obama/Kerry recently GAVE over $1Billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars fighter jets to Egypt, which just today. declared the U.S. and Israel to be its "enemies." Leaving aside that you're woefully misinformed and behind the times, you're fine with that?

Anonymous,
June 13, 2013 10:01 AM

This comment is excellent. No one should be happy with any administration giving money to any country or government that is not on record as a friend of America.

Anonymous,
June 12, 2013 1:11 AM

Hashem Watches

myhumble opinion . i dont think the rabbi meant exactly that its alright for the gov to do such things even though terroism is used as an excuse. We should be more concerned Hashem is Watching us every moment. and thus He is also watching the gov. Free will is given, but Hashem is still in Control. How Hashem plays is something we dont understand and who He uses too, however we do know that the end game will always be for the best of Israel and His creations. NO matter what we do, if Hashem does not protect us, all us of no avail, the latest planes, weapons and all. so perhaps we should concentrate more on Hashem Watching us and let Him guide us, which He will.

Anonymous,
June 13, 2013 10:05 AM

Your point is excellent and valid. However, in this day and age of Islamoterrorism, you have to you use all "tools" available to fight. The best "tool" America had during WWII was the atomic bomb.

I'm told that it's a mitzvah to become intoxicated on Purim. This puzzles me, because to my understanding, it is not considered a good thing to become intoxicated, period.

One of the characteristics of the at-risk youth is their use of drugs, including alcohol. In my experience, getting drunk doesn't reveal secrets. It makes people act stupid and irresponsible, doing things they would never do if they were sober. Also, I know a lot about the horrible health effects of abusing alcohol, because I work at a research center that focuses on addiction and substance abuse.

Also, I am an alcoholic, which means that if I drink, very bad things happen. I have not had a drink in 22 years, and I have no intention of starting now. Surely there must be instances where a person is excused from the obligation to drink. I don't see how Judaism could ever promote the idea of getting drunk. It just doesn't seem right.

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Putting aside for a moment all the spiritual and philosophical reasons for getting drunk on Purim, this remains an issue of common sense. Of course, teenagers should be warned of the dangers of acute alcohol ingestion. Of course, nobody should drink and drive. Of course, nobody should become so drunk to the point of negligence in performing mitzvot. And of course, a recovering alcoholic should not partake of alcohol on Purim.

Indeed, the Code of Jewish Law explicitly says that if one suspects the drinking may affect him negatively, then he should NOT drink.

Getting drunk on Purim is actually one of the most difficult mitzvot to do correctly. A person should only drink if it will lead to positive spiritual results - e.g. under the loosening affect of the alcohol, greater awareness will surface of the love for God and Torah found deep in the heart. (Perhaps if we were on a higher spiritual level, we wouldn't need to get drunk!)

Yet the Talmud still speaks of an obligation on Purim of "not knowing the difference between Blessed is Mordechai and Cursed is Haman." How then should a person who doesn't drink get the point of “not knowing”? Simple - just go to sleep! (Rama - OC 695:2)

All this applies to individuals. But the question remains - does drinking on Purim adversely affect the collective social health of the Jewish community?

The aversion to alcoholism is engrained into Jewish consciousness from a number of Biblical and Talmudic sources. There are the rebuking words of prophets - Isaiah 28:1, Hosea 3:1 with Rashi, and Amos 6:6, and the Zohar says that "The wicked stray after wine" (Midrash Ne'alam Parshat Vayera).

It is well known that the rate of alcoholism among Jews has historically been very low. Numerous medical, psychological and sociological studies have confirmed this. The connection between Judaism and sobriety is so evident, that the following conversation is reported by Lawrence Kelemen in "Permission to Receive":

When Dr. Mark Keller, editor of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, commented that "practically all Jews do drink, and yet all the world knows that Jews hardly ever become alcoholics," his colleague, Dr. Howard Haggard, director of Yale's Laboratory of Applied Physiology, jokingly proposed converting alcoholics to the Jewish religion in order to immerse them in a culture with healthy attitudes toward drinking!

Perhaps we could suggest that it is precisely because of the use of alcohol in traditional ceremonies (Kiddush, Bris, Purim, etc.), that Jews experience such low rates of alcoholism. This ceremonial usage may actually act like an inoculation - i.e. injecting a safe amount that keeps the disease away.

Of course, as we said earlier, all this needs to be monitored with good common sense. Yet in my personal experience - having been in the company of Torah scholars who were totally drunk on Purim - they acted with extreme gentleness and joy. Amid the Jewish songs and beautiful words of Torah, every year the event is, for me, very special.

Adar 12 marks the dedication of Herod's renovations on the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 11 BCE. Herod was king of Judea in the first century BCE who constructed grand projects like the fortresses at Masada and Herodium, the city of Caesarea, and fortifications around the old city of Jerusalem. The most ambitious of Herod's projects was the re-building of the Temple, which was in disrepair after standing over 300 years. Herod's renovations included a huge man-made platform that remains today the largest man-made platform in the world. It took 10,000 men 10 years just to build the retaining walls around the Temple Mount; the Western Wall that we know today is part of that retaining wall. The Temple itself was a phenomenal site, covered in gold and marble. As the Talmud says, "He who has not seen Herod's building, has never in his life seen a truly grand building."

Some people gauge the value of themselves by what they own. But in reality, the entire concept of ownership of possessions is based on an illusion. When you obtain a material object, it does not become part of you. Ownership is merely your right to use specific objects whenever you wish.

How unfortunate is the person who has an ambition to cleave to something impossible to cleave to! Such a person will not obtain what he desires and will experience suffering.

Fortunate is the person whose ambition it is to acquire personal growth that is independent of external factors. Such a person will lead a happy and rewarding life.

With exercising patience you could have saved yourself 400 zuzim (Berachos 20a).

This Talmudic proverb arose from a case where someone was fined 400 zuzim because he acted in undue haste and insulted some one.

I was once pulling into a parking lot. Since I was a bit late for an important appointment, I was terribly annoyed that the lead car in the procession was creeping at a snail's pace. The driver immediately in front of me was showing his impatience by sounding his horn. In my aggravation, I wanted to join him, but I saw no real purpose in adding to the cacophony.

When the lead driver finally pulled into a parking space, I saw a wheelchair symbol on his rear license plate. He was handicapped and was obviously in need of the nearest parking space. I felt bad that I had harbored such hostile feelings about him, but was gratified that I had not sounded my horn, because then I would really have felt guilty for my lack of consideration.

This incident has helped me to delay my reactions to other frustrating situations until I have more time to evaluate all the circumstances. My motives do not stem from lofty principles, but from my desire to avoid having to feel guilt and remorse for having been foolish or inconsiderate.

Today I shall...

try to withhold impulsive reaction, bearing in mind that a hasty act performed without full knowledge of all the circumstances may cause me much distress.

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